5-4 Automating Measurements
Automated Measurement Setup and Control
Setting the Instrument State
Setting the Instrument State
A DUT will often undergo several different tests while at a single test
station. The analyzer's parameters (such as sweep frequencies, output
power, markers, and limits) must be set to the desired values before each
test is performed. In an automated test system, the controlling computer
modifies the instrument settings for the operator. The analyzer offers
several techniques for quickly changing the instrument's measurement
parameters:
• Recall of instrument states from disk
• The learn string HP-IB command (*LRN)
• SCPI commands that change specific parameters
Recalling Instrument States from Disk
The analyzer has two internal memory (RAM) disks: “Non-Vol RAM
Disk” and “Volatile RAM Disk.” A “RAM Disk” is a block of memory
inside the analyzer which you can access in the same way that you access
files on a floppy disk. In addition, the analyzer has a built-in 3.5 inch
floppy-disk drive accessible on the front panel.
The “Non-Vol RAM Disk” is non-volatile, meaning that its contents are
preserved while the analyzer is turned off. The contents of the “Volatile
RAM Disk” are erased when the analyzer is turned off. The volatile RAM
disk can be configured to be much larger than the non-volatile RAM disk,
allowing it to hold many more instrument states.
The instrument settings and calibrations associated with several tests
can be saved to instrument state files on any of the analyzer’s three disks
described above. The instrument states can later be recalled during a
test sequence. The advantage of using RAM disks rather than the
3.5 inch floppy disk is that recalling a state from RAM disks takes
several seconds less than recalling a state from the floppy disk.
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